It’s been six long years since the last Good Charlotte album Cardiology but the five-piece is officially back with their brand new album Youth Authority, which is their sixth full-length release. Youth Authority picks up exactly where Cardiology left off, and it’s pretty much what we’ve all come to expect from a Good Charlotte album – there’s no surprises to be found within these thirteen tracks, and this is both a good thing and a bad thing.
There’s plenty of big sing-along anthems on the album, with opener Life Changes being a particularly gripping track that immediately grabs your attention and inevitably winds up in your head after the first listen, and later song The Outfield is a punchy number that will soon have you singing along to the chorus – this is surely a track that will go down well in a live environment.
However, on the flip-side, the album is quite predictable. It could be argued that the band are simply sticking to the formula they know works, as it’s been a while since they last put out an album, but on the other hand at times it does feel a little tired and overly familiar. There’s no really bad songs aside from the cringeworthy Stray Dogs (which features some pretty awful lyrics and dreary songwriting) and as mentioned earlier, there’s lots of massive sing-along tracks that will definitely wind up stuck in your head, but it would be nice if next time round, there’s a little more variety. The tried-and-tested Good Charlotte sound is good, but there’s nothing that really makes the album stand out from their other releases.
6.5/10
